When I woke up again, I felt much better. I didn’t know how long I had been asleep, but it was enough for me to recover a little. My body felt lighter. The pain was still there, but to a lesser degree. The gaping emptiness in the center of my being where my mana core used to be was still a problem. However, I would fix that bridge when I came to it.

I also noticed that my left hand felt warm. It took me a moment to realize that someone else was holding it. This person’s hand felt small and soft. I sniffed. The scent of roses and pomegranates mingled with the medicinal smell that permeated the air.

The strange sense of familiarity I felt before, when I first woke up, returned. I knew this scent, though I couldn’t quite remember how. Unease filled me and questions buzzed around in my head, like bees in a hive. What was going on? Why did this place feel so familiar?

Rather than continue to speculate, I decided to ask the person holding my hand. Maybe I could get some answers from them. It was better than floundering about in the dark. This would also confirm whether or not I transmigrated. To be honest, I felt a little nervous about that.

I took a moment to steel my resolve, before opening my eyes. It was much brighter this time around. The curtains of my canopy bed were open. Sunlight streamed in from a nearby window. From what I could tell, it was morning.

I looked to my left. When I saw the woman sitting next to my bed and holding my hand, I froze in shock, unable to even breath. No. That was impossible. What was she doing here? How? Just… How?

I knew this woman, though I never expected to see her again. For a moment, I wondered if I died and went to the afterlife. That was the only possible explanation. We were both dead and this was the afterlife. Nothing else made sense. Otherwise, how was that woman here? Had she somehow traveled to Earth? Or… Or had I returned to Lumina, the world I lived in during my first life?

If that was the case, how did it happen? Did the Demon Lord hit me so hard that I ended up traveling between realms and ended up in my homeworld? Stranger things have happened. I wasn’t an expert in traveling between realms, but I knew plenty of beings who were experts. They told me all kinds of stories.

However, even if that were true, that didn’t explain the current situation. If this woman was who I thought she was, why would she be holding my hand like this? In my current life, unlike my first one, we were nothing but strangers to each other. So why was she here, holding my hand like this? Unless…

A thought occurred to me, one I deemed impossible. And yet, it was the explanation that made sense.

Before I followed that train of thought, I took a closer look at the woman. Maybe she wasn’t the woman I was thinking of. Maybe she just resembled her.

The woman before me now was short and petite, a little under five feet I reckoned, with fair skin, long wavy red hair, and brilliant green eyes. She was a beauty, with a heart-shaped face and delicate, doll-like features. Back on Earth, modeling agencies would trip over themselves to represent her. The woman wore a gorgeous green dress, one that looked like it belonged on the set of a medieval fantasy movie or TV show.

No. This woman was exactly who I thought she was. There was no mistaking it. I would recognize her anywhere, even though we hadn’t seen each other in over twenty five years.

Claire Sturm, my mother from my first life.

In my memories, my mother had always been a vibrant and vivacious woman, full of elegance and poise. She always made the effort to look her best, no matter the circumstances. I asked her why once, back when I was a child. She told me that how a person looked and how a person acted determined what others thought of them. By using that to your advantage, you could determine how others viewed you.

Of course, as a child, I didn’t understand what that meant. Not really. It wasn’t until later on, after I grew up, that I realized the truth of her words.

However, the woman before me was different from the one in my memories. She looked haggard, with a pale complexion and dark circles underneath her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept for days. Her hair was in disarray and her gorgeous green dress looked wrinkled and disheveled. She stared off into space, her eyes devoid of life and vitality.

I opened my mouth to call out to her, but hesitated. What should I say to her? What could I say to her? During my first life, I didn’t have the best relationship with my mother; with either of my parents now that I thought about it. They never neglected or mistreated me. However, I always wondered if they ever actually loved me, or if they provided for me out of obligation and duty. After all, in my first life, I was my family’s biggest embarrassment.

On Lumina, every single Awakened was a wizard. Every. Single. Fucking. One. There were no hunters or knights or martial artists of any kind. In this realm, magic and those who wielded it reigned supreme.

Luminian society was hierarchical and could be divided into three broad groups. At the top were the Houses, dynasties with long lineages and powerful magic. They wielded unrivaled power and influence. Below them were the minor noble families. While they weren’t as influential as the Houses, nor was their magic as strong, they were still powerful in their own right. And beneath them was everyone else, those who had weak magic or none at all, the commoners.

Well, there was the Church of the Sun, but they weren’t relevant right now.

A person’s magical prowess and their bloodline determined their status. While there was some social mobility, there wasn’t a lot. A wizard from a minor noble family could found or marry into a House, and a commoner could found or marry into a minor noble family. However, it was unheard of for a commoner to found or marry into a House.

In my first life, I was born into House Sturm, one of the oldest and most prestigious Houses in the Solarian Empire, one of the two major powers that ruled Lumina. While House Sturm wasn’t as powerful and influential as it used to be, they-we were still a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately for me, as someone born without any talent for magic, this proved to be more of a curse than a blessing. My father was the head of House Sturm, its patriarch. As such, people held great expectations of me. At least, at first. However, when I failed to meet their expectations, they regarded me with contempt and disdain. My parents, in particular, were disappointed in me. They never said as much, but they didn’t need to. Everyone else said it for them.

In my anger and resentment, I distanced myself from my parents. Around the same time, I became obsessed with becoming a great wizard. I wanted to become a worthy scion of House Sturm instead of an embarrassment and disappointment.

This led me to try out a dangerous magical procedure, the one that resulted in my death. Even after I died and reincarnated on Earth, my obsession remained. It wasn’t until I met Teacher, the martial arts master who taught me everything I knew, that I let go of my obsession.

As I studied my mother, a maelstrom of emotion surged through me. Despite my anger and resentment towards my parents, I still loved them. I yearned for their approval and acceptance. Even now, twenty five years after my death(?), that hadn’t changed.

Still, I couldn’t lie here and pretend I was asleep forever. That wouldn’t accomplish anything. If I had transmigrated back to Lumina, then there was a good chance that I was in my old body. Perhaps I hadn’t died at all. Maybe my soul left my body, leaving me in a comatose state for the past twenty five years. However, now that I was back, I needed to face the specters of my past and deal with them.

A part of me found it amusing that I found talking to my own mother, who I hadn’t seen in twenty five years, scarier than facing a Demon Lord.

With some trepidation, I opened my mouth to call out to my mother. At the last minute I made sure to speak in Common Tongue, the most widespread language on Lumina, instead of English. Otherwise, things could’ve gotten awkward.

“Mother.” I whispered.

The moment she heard my voice, my mother turned towards me. When she saw that I was awake, she gasped and her grip on my hand tightened. Life returned to her eyes.

“Gabriel?” She asked. “You’re awake?”

Ah, yes. Gabriel Sturm. That was my name. I would have to get used to being called that again. Man, this transmigration and reincarnation stuff was confusing.

“Yes.” I said with a nod.

My mother’s lips trembled and her eyes grew wet with tears. Before I could react, she stood up and pulled me into an embrace. Her hair tickled me. The smell of roses and pomegranate filled my nostrils. Oh right. That’s why that scent felt so familiar. It was my mother’s favorite kind of perfume.

“My child,” my mother said, her voice thick with emotion, “Thank the gods you’re awake. I feared that I would never hear your voice again.”

Her sudden display of affection caught me off guard. This was the first time I had ever seen my mother act like this, and I didn’t know what to do. Then again, it wasn’t as if I had the strength to do anything. Still, I didn’t hate this. In fact, it was everything I had ever wanted, back in my first life.

Tears pricked my eyes. I closed them and simply basked in the warmth of my mother’s embrace. The complicated stuff could wait until later. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy this reunion.

After a while, my mother pulled away and sat down again. She wiped the tears from her eyes, before holding my hand again.

“How do you feel?” She asked. “Is there anything you need?”

I shook my head. Well, that wasn’t quite true. There were a lot of things I needed. However, I wanted answers more than anything.

“How long has it been?” I asked.

My mother’s expression faltered.

“Since your accident?” She asked.

I nodded.

“Two weeks.” She said. “You’ve been asleep for the past two weeks.”

What? That was it? No. That couldn’t be possible.

“Two weeks?” I muttered in disbelief.

My mother nodded.

“Yes,” she said, “Though it felt like two years.”

I stared at my mother, unable to comprehend her words. Rather, I was unable to accept them. I spent twenty five years on Earth. However, it had only been two weeks here on Lumina? That didn’t make sense.

What the hell was going on?